In a whirlwind of productivity, Cuv has just released Part 2 of his Animations mod, which intends to solve the issues with animation slot overwriting and mod incompatibility due to animation overwriting. Part 2 includes 8 wights, including the BGII Wights, the IWD zombies, the IWD Ghoul and the IWD Ghast.

All of the animations in this package use the same death animation, which is why so many animations can be placed in the same slot.

This mod is intended to give modders more flexibility in their modding endeavors, allowing them to use animations from other games in their BGII mods. This is the second installment, but many more are promised.

You can download Part 2 of the mod here, and check out many of the animations Cuv has ported from PS:T here. For any modder interested in using animations from games other than BGII, this is a great resource to take a look at and use!

For more information and the discussion thread, take a look here!

Hello hello! Time for the 23rd Fanart Challenge, which is titled Final Battle. For the next two weeks, your aim will be to illustrate any or all of the mighty final battles - pick any of the three villains - Sarevok, Irenicus or Melissan to toast! Have fun, play nice and be creative! Style is free, so anything from a messy sketch to a full painting goes. Whether it’s a sketch, a digital painting, or a crayon doodle - even an artistic photo, any medium is accepted!

Interested in drawing the final battle, or checking out what the other participants are doing? Check it out here! You have two weeks to get your entries in, so start arting now… :)

- Ilmatar

Hello, everyone.

As Ascension64’s news updates for the IE on Mondays, NWN will be getting a biweekly update on Fridays. From mod releases around the works, to updates on those in progress, new patch updates, links to discussion threads of interest, and whatever else I’m inspired to add for news for the NWN series modding scene.

So on to the news.

Old Game, New Game
The Baldur’s Gate Series has been a favorite among many players for years, despite its older graphics and newer computers being capable of much more advanced things. But there are few who believe it’s time to lay these great classics to rest. On the contrary not only are there several thriving communities centered around modifying the games, it seems that the NWN community may just be renewing them. With a prologue and a more developed module out for NWN, and one still being worked on for NWN2. At the moment it has a demo out with plans for far more to be added. Definitely something to keep eyes on.

Under the Works as SHS
As you might have noticed, Legend of the Acefes has been under development here at SHS. Set in the world of Damea (a world created by theacefes) it is a single player module for NWN. Be sure to check out the forums and leave a comment and encouragement.

Recommended Mods (NWN2)
Looking for a new story after trudging through the orignal campaign for time immemorial? Just got down with the coolest mod and want to tell someone? Check out the Mod Reviews thread or the favorites thread.

That’s all for now. Look forward to more in two weeks.

Over the past few months, Cuv has been working on a mod which he - and many others - hopes will help to fix the problem with filled animation slots! What it does is adds 9 creature animations to a single IWD style slot thus freeing up 3 previously occupied slots. It also incorporates 3 new animations that Cuv has recently converted from PST, and 2 animations converted by Worm from NWN all into one neat package.

All of the animations in this package use the same death animation, which is why so many animations can be placed in the same slot.

This mod is intended to give modders more flexibility in their modding endeavors. This is the first installment, hopefully there will be plenty more!

You can download this first part of the mod here. For any modder interested in using animations from games other than BGII, this is a great resource to take a look at and use!

Greetings, readers!
Starting here is a fortnightly update on the new vogue in Infinity Engine modding at Spellhold Studios. Expect to find news on mod releases, fixes and updates not announced in a separate news flash, interesting discussions, and if you are lucky, stimuli for new discussions. Oh, and if you don’t know what a ‘mod’ is, check the SHS Wiki article on Mod.

Remember, you can keep up to date with the news on this site by tuning in to the Spellhold Studios RSS Feed, which you can subscribe to here. In addition, keep tracking of major releases throughout the entire Infinity Engine modding community at the Infinity Engine Modding News mirror here.

Without further ado, I have several announcements this fortnight:

Mod Updates by Ascension64
I have made updates to the Baldur’s Gate Trilogy-WeiDU versions of BG1 Unfinished Business (now at version 4 beta 4), The Lure of the Sirine’s Call (now at version 7.1), and the BGT-WeiDU/Tutu modification Restored Textscreen Music (now at version 7). Grab them by following this link.

Planescape: Torment Animations in BG2
This might be old but nevertheless exciting news for some: Cuv has been busy porting animations from PS:T into BG2. The results are looking spectacular! Check out his progress here.

Shyhinworuwhat?
MajorTomSawyer has released a new NPC mod, now at version beta 2, that adds a rather interesting NPC to BG2. She goes by the rather abstract name of Shyhinworunto Chende, who we can all refer to simply as Shy. Check out the release here and the progress report here.

Iron Modder 10
Iron Modder is an enactment of the fabled Japanese TV series Iron Chef, but here, the creativity and adroitness of modders are tested in a battle of mod design. The tenth instalment of Iron Modder has been announced. If thoughts of the Iron Modder crown make you salivate with greed, be sure to roll up your sleeves and warm up those fingers on December 9.